by Blake Brown
***
On one of the slow and uneventful mornings, Byark approached Bryce. “The two of us need to make a trip into the woods today, we’ll be gone all day so pack anything you might need. We leave in 20 minutes.” The larger man said before turning to walk away.
“Wait, what are we doing? Going hunting?” Bryce asked, confused by the other man’s random and stern approach.
“No. There is something that the two of us need to do together, an experience that you need to have. Odin showed me in my dreams last night. Do you trust me?” Byark said, turning back around to face him again.
“Of course man, even if I don’t really understand what’s going on.” Bryce said.
“You will soon, you’ll learn more today than you probably have on any other.” Byark said, turning back around and starting to walk away again.
Bryce packed his bag and grabbed his rifle before walking over to the gate, seeing Byark standing there adorned in his full set of chainmail and curiously unarmed. “Don’t you want to bring something to protect yourself with?” Bryce asked as he approached the other man.
“Today is not about me, it’s about you. I won’t be needing a weapon as Odin will protect me and help me guide you while we are away.” Byark responded as they made their way through the gate. Byark’s actions started to worry Bryce, and he couldn’t remember ever being so confused in his life.
They walked through the woods for a few minutes until they could no longer see the cabin and Byark stopped, reaching into a leather pouch that was strapped to his waist. He pulled out something and placed it into Bryce’s hand, “Eat these.” He said.
Bryce looked down to see that the other man had placed a few, psilocybin mushrooms into his hand. “Mushrooms?” He asked.
“Yes.” Byark responded before stuffing some of the mushrooms into his own mouth and chomping them down.
“I don’t do drugs brother.” Bryce said, trying to hand them back to Byark.
“They’re not drugs, they’re natural fungi that grow in the earth to help us see the real world around us and the inner being within.” Byark said.
“There are infected out here and maybe even people that are willing to kill us for what we have, I have to keep my head on straight.” Bryce continued to hold the mushrooms out towards Byark.
“Your head is not on straight, you are haunted by loss. I swear to you that if you eat these, no harm will come to you this day. If you don’t, however, it will set in motion further suffering and loss.” Byark said with a tone of true wisdom, almost pleading for Bryce to accept his counsel.
Bryce didn’t know why, but he trusted the man’s words, and what he said chilled his bones. He popped the weirdly textured and bitter mushrooms into his mouth, chewing them down to a bland paste before swallowing. They walked through the woods for thirty or so minutes in silence before Bryce’s stomach began to turn, his body and mind feeling a strangeness he had never experienced before. He looked down at his hands, and even though they were just his regular hands, something about them was strange and unsettling, as if they were alien to him. “Where are we going?” He asked, feeling a small tinge of panic growing in his core.
“You have to find them.” Byark responded mysteriously. Just then, a raven flew over their heads and landed on a low tree branch, staring down at them as it quietly squawked. “His eye watches us.” Byark said, grinning from ear to ear as he marveled at the bird.
Bryce could hear all the back-ground noise of the forest growing louder and more intense. He could hear running water in the distance, birds chirping from the sky above, and he could even hear the noise of a spider building its web in one of the trees. He looked up, and even though he could see the sky and the tops of the trees, the trees looked as if they went on for an eternity, never ending as they grew into the blue sky. The bark of the trees and the dirt under his feet started to move, as if it were alive, and for a second, he swore in his own mind that he could see the heartbeat of the earth. The trees around him moved and waved like water, expanding and contrasting as they breathed in and out. He looked off to the side and could see a blurry figure made of light in the distance, hearing the faintest echo of a young girl’s voice as he spotted the figure. Even though he couldn’t make out the words or the shape of the light, his hallucinogen addled mind knew it was his sister. “Do you see that?” Bryce said, pointing to the light.
“Follow it.” Byark put a reassuring hand on Bryce’s shoulder. Bryce followed the light, but as he got closer, it moved further away, keeping an even distance between them. He could hear his sister’s laugh echoing through the woods, and mental glimpses of her running in-between the trees started to flash through his mind.
Bryce followed the light through the forest with pure determination, beginning to lose track of time and distance, not knowing if it had been hours or minutes, yards or miles. Eventually, the light stopped moving away from them, staying in place as they approached. It grew brighter the closer they got to it, eventually washing out everything around them and becoming so bright that it felt as though they were staring into the sun itself, standing just feet away from the massive ball of fire. Once they reached it, the light seemed to explode, restoring their vision after one more, head throbbing flash.
Bryce uncovered his eyes and looked up to see three wolves in the distance; an older, scar covered male, an adult female, and a young, female pup trailing behind them. They must be what’s left of the pack I was tracking. Bryce could see a spiritual energy radiating from the three animals, and for some reason, he started to see them as his parents and little sister. The fully-grown wolves stopped and stared at the two men as the pup began to playfully bite at one of its father’s hind legs. The glowing image of Bryce’s family mimicked the animals from behind in their own human way, Bryce’s sister tugging at their father’s pant leg. Bryce walked towards them against his better judgment and survival instincts, tears streaming down his face. He wanted so badly to be with the three of them again, to be a family.
Two infected shrieks sounded out in the distance, and Bryce turned to see the creatures sprinting at the family. “No!” He screamed with instinctual rage, rushing towards the front infected and tackling it to the ground from the side, taking its back. Byark rushed the second infected and slammed it into a tree, pinning its arms and holding it at bay. Bryce grabbed the back of the creature’s head and began slamming its face into the hard soil. “You won’t take them from me!” He screamed, feeling almost feral and deranged. The image of his family’s corpses shot through his mind, causing him to freeze, ceasing his attack. “No… no… no… They’re already gone. I couldn’t save them…” The infected underneath him took its chance and wildly thrashed back, throwing Bryce to the ground. The creature scrambled to its feet and continued its mad dash towards the wolves, dirt and forest debris spraying out from underneath its feet as it took off at full speed. The two parents stood their ground, lowering their heads and arching their backs as they growled at the approaching infected, their pup hiding behind them.
“Your family may be dead, but you can still save this family and many others!” Byark yelled out, trying to snap Bryce back into the fight, struggling to hold the other creature in his grasp.
“No… no more… I won’t let you kill anyone else!” Bryce yelled, bringing up his rifle. He fired, the round punching through the back of the creature’s neck. The creature fell to the forest floor with a now severed spinal cord, and the father wolf rushed over, biting down on what remained of its throat and thrashing back and forth. The wolf severed the bits of flesh and muscle that remained of the infected creature’s neck, quickly and violently decapitating it. Byark threw the other infected to the ground, dislocating its shoulder as he did so. He then stomped down on its head with all his might, smashing its face in and splitting its skull open, killing it instantly.
Bryce stood and walked towards the small family of wolves again. Th
e father growled at him, the hair on his back rising as he skulked around Bryce slowly. The mother walked in front of the male and growled, blocking the other wolf’s advance. The small pup rushed past her parents and straight for Bryce, jumping up as she reached him and planting her paws on his legs. He reached down and rubbed the pup’s face as it began to lick and bite his hand, her sharp teeth just barely piercing his skin with the strength of her small bite. Bryce smiled and laughed as tears filled his eyes again. The male wolf barked, and the little pup came running back to her parents. The two, older wolves looked at Bryce for a second and seemed to convey some sense of gratitude for their brief alliance, turning and walking away into the woods after the quick exchange. As the wolves vanished off into the distance, the light reappeared, slowly fading away. “Don’t go…” Bryce pleaded quietly to the wolves, the light, and most of all, his family.
The light vanished and Byark walked up behind Bryce, resting a hand on his shoulder. “Just because something’s dead or you can’t see it anymore, that doesn’t mean it’s gone or that you won’t see it again. It just means you need to focus on what you can see and what’s still alive until you pass over to the other side. You saved those wolves because that’s who you are, a fighter, a protector. Everyone back at that camp, including me, needs you to be that. Otherwise, we’re all lost, and we don’t stand a chance in this new world. If there was any possible way you could have saved your family, then you would have, but there wasn’t Bryce. You have to let go.”
“I thought they were my family, I thought I was getting to see them so that I could say goodbye.” Bryce replied.
“Maybe they were your family, maybe that pup was your sister telling you that she was alright and trying to play with you one last time before you both had to move on. The world doesn’t work how we perceive it, you’ve learned that today. Your family is still out there Bryce, and they’re waiting for you, but it’s not your time to join them. You still have a lot of life left to live and a lot of people that need your protection and love. Isn’t that worth waiting awhile?”
Bryce stood in silence for a few moments before answering. “Yeah. Yeah it is. Let’s go home to our family.” Byark wrapped Bryce in a huge hug, and Bryce imagined the big man squeezing all the negative emotions he was still holding inside of him right on out of his body. “Was it all actually real? Like how do we know what was real and what wasn’t if we’re hallucinating?” Bryce asked as they walked back in the direction of the cabin.
“I think that’s for you to decide on your own. No one man can tell another what his reality is, that’s something you must discover for yourself.” Byark said.
Bryce looked out across the forest landscape, in the opposite direction than the wolves had walked off in. There, in the distance peeking through the trees, was a young buck. The animal looked immediately familiar to Bryce, and the still healing, massive scab on its shoulder told him that his perception was correct. “Do you think that animals can get infected? I’ve never seen an infected animal and that male wolf looked like it had been bitten by infected before.” Bryce said, not bringing up the deer in the distance, just in case it was something that only he was seeing.
“I don’t know, I suppose not, or else we would have probably seen some infected animals by now.” Byark said after a moment of thought.
Maybe I can protect those around me after all. Bryce watched the buck disappear through the trees.
***
Bryce lied down in bed as he came down from the mushrooms, cuddling Grunt and sleeping through the night. The following day, he made it a point to spend time with every member of the group, having a new-found happiness and determination to lead these people and keep them safe.
CHAPTER 10
Bryce woke just before sunrise, collected his gear, and went to go meet Alejandro and Sarah. Even though their supplies were still in decent shape, Bryce and Alejandro had decided the night before to go into Forest Hill on a scavenging run. Before they left, Bryce also wanted to fulfill his promise of giving Sarah the weapon training that she needed in order to be a responsible gun owner and obtain the Remington rifle. He asked Alejandro to come with him before the run to help train the girl, as he was the only one among them with proper military training.
Bryce made his way to the garden and relieved himself on the fence next to it, smiling from the sight of their vegetables beginning to sprout out of the soil. He marveled at the little, green stems with small leaves on them for a few moments after shaking himself off. Making his way to the gate, he passed Byark who was on watch at the moment. The man sat by his makeshift tent next to a small fire, sharpening his axe with a whet stone. The two men nodded to each other in passing and Bryce reached the gate, seeing an alert Alejandro and a tired yet excited Sarah waiting for him. “You two ready to go?” Bryce said.
“Let’s get after it.” Alejandro replied. They hiked a short distance away from the cabin, not wanting the noise of the gunshots to lead any less than friendly things to their doorstep, and eventually reached a small, fold up table that Bryce had set up the night before. “Do you want to start the instructions or should I?” Alejandro asked.
“You’re the expert man, I’ll start setting up targets.” Bryce deferred to his more experienced companion. He grabbed a trash bag sitting next to the table that contained beer bottles and cans, water bottles, soda cans, and other pieces of trash that they no longer had use for and began setting them up in front of the table at varying distances among the trees, ground, and rocks.
“At first, I’m just going to have you shoot a few rounds and give you advice on your stance and how you shoot. After that I’ll show you how to properly reload and the basic gun functions. Once I’m confident you can shoot, we’ll get into the fun stuff like breaking down, cleaning, and maintaining your rifle. Any questions?” Alejandro said.
“No sir, just happy to have the chance to serve my country.” Sarah said with a weak and inaccurate salute, trying and failing to keep a straight face, quickly letting out a laugh and a snort.
“This isn’t a joke, guns are serious. Use them improperly, and you may kill yourself or one of us. Use them properly, and you might be killing a stranger or one of the infected.”
“I know. I was just trying to lighten the mood, I do take this seriously. I want to be able to protect myself and my sister. I won’t die defenseless like my mom.” Sarah said.
“Good, just because guns are serious doesn’t mean you can’t have a little fun doing some target practice though. It’s supposed to be fun.” Alejandro said, regretting darkening the mood with his statement. Bryce walked back behind the two and Alejandro loaded a magazine into the Remington, handing it over to the girl. “First rule of gun safety; never point the gun at someone you don’t intend to shoot. Even if it’s unloaded, you need to still assume that it is, even if you or someone around you has just unloaded it. Second rule; is never put your finger on the trigger until you are ready to shoot, also don’t pull the trigger, squeeze it.” Alejandro said as the girl brought the rifle up, taking aim at a target.
“Got it.” She said seriously. “Can I shoot now?”
“Go ahead.” Alejandro replied.
She fired and barely missed her target as the bullet slammed into the tree branch below the beer can, sending an explosion of bark splinters out into the air. “You didn’t tell me it would hurt and mess up my aim.” The girl said, referring to the recoil. “I’m going to try again.” Alejandro waved out his hand as if to say, “By all means”.
She brought up the rifle again and took aim at the same can, squeezing the trigger after a few moments. Nothing happened. “It’s a bolt action, you have to chamber another round every time you go to fire off a shot.” Alejandro said, already prepared for that to happen. He unloaded the gun and had her use the bolt a few times to get familiar with it before showing her how to reload the missing round from the magazine and put it back in the rifl
e. He then gave her a few pointers on her stance and breathing.
She chambered a fresh round and fired, ripping the beer can open and sending it flying off the tree branch. She turned to them and smiled before chambering another round. She ran through two magazines, reloading the weapon herself and landing almost every shot she took. On the third magazine, she got a little too comfortable with chambering the rifle, moving too quickly and causing one of the shell casings to jam the weapon. “You can’t go that fast, you need to be thorough when operating the bolt. This does give me the chance to teach you how to clear a jam however.” He showed her how to easily clear the breach and then allowed her to continue shooting.
A few times they had to set up more targets for the girl that was quickly becoming a marksman, eventually running out of the ammo they had brought for the rifle. Alejandro told her she had done well and then explained to her that shooting would be a lot different when her blood was pumping fast and she was shooting at actual, moving attackers in a dangerous situation. He showed her how to disassemble the gun and had her disassemble and reassemble the rifle herself a few times before she got it down. He then showed her how to properly clean all the parts of the disassembled rifle and explained how important it was to clean your firearm after every use if you had the chance to do so. The two men then allowed Sarah to fire a few rounds from their own weapons, to give her some varying experience. They also showed her how the other guns functioned and how to break them down and clean them. After the firearm training was finished, it was still early in the morning, and they packed up and headed back to the cabin.